Chapter 37: Chapter 37

In the woods at the foot of Fangtou Mountain, several men sat on the ground inside a command tent. A charcoal fire blazed before them as they roasted meat, while the fragrance of wine drifted through the air. The endless SIZZLE of meat filled the tent.

The men talked and laughed in high spirits, even though they were due to attack the city that very night.

The snowfall had eased somewhat over the past two days. Although the roads were muddy, they were brimming with confidence. According to the reports sent back by their spies in Liangzhou, the city had already descended into complete chaos over the past few days. The two great gangs had been slaughtering one another over territory, leaving dozens dead.

Combined with the fires they had started inside the city, the government troops would inevitably be run ragged. All that remained was for their spies to locate the granaries, and then they could attack.

Everything was ready. All they lacked was the east wind.

After they finished a jar of wine, a short, stout man entered the tent.

“Big Brother, the troops are fully prepared. I have already ordered them to sleep.”

“Good. It is now Noon. Have them prepare their meals during the Shen Hour. We attack two quarters into the You Hour.”

The middle-aged man seated at the center was named Fei Ming. Holding roasted meat in one hand and a wine jar in the other, he smiled and asked, “Strategist, have the spies still not returned?”

Beside him sat an elderly man whose hair and beard were both completely white. He ate his roasted meat at an unhurried pace, occasionally taking a sip of wine. This was their strategist, Hu Pingqin.

When he heard Fei Ming’s question, he set down his wine cup and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief before answering.

“Not yet. There is no need to be impatient, General. Liangzhou City has three granaries—two public and one secret. The public granaries are easy to find, but locating the secret one is much more difficult.”

Fei Ming naturally understood Hu Pingqin’s meaning.

He also knew that the two public granaries did not contain much grain. The secret granary was the important one. Therefore, he said nothing and merely nodded in agreement with his strategist.

The men sitting on either side of Fei Ming were his younger brother, Fei Shu, and Xiong Wu, a subordinate who had followed him all the way from Chang’an.

Both men were tall and powerfully built, with bulging muscles covering their bodies. They were currently bare-chested, and their faces had already grown slightly flushed from drinking.

“Big Brother, what is there to investigate?” Fei Shu asked. “We should just charge straight into the city. Once the gates are closed, everything inside will belong to us!”

Fei Shu had a face covered in a thick beard. He did not tie up his hair, allowing it to fall loosely down his back. His rough voice perfectly matched his appearance.

“That is right, General,” Xiong Wu agreed excitedly. “Letting the troops pillage for three days is customary!”

Fei Ming did not answer them immediately.

His gaze turned profound, and no one knew what he was thinking. Only after finishing the wine in his cup did he speak.

“You two need to calm yourselves. Have you forgotten how we were driven here?”

“If we merely seize grain, those officials will hold their noses and reluctantly tolerate it. But if we pillage the city for three days, are you not afraid of the Hexi Iron Cavalry?”

“Do not forget that Jianmen Pass is less than six hundred li from Liangzhou, while Jinguan City is only a little over five hundred li away. We will also need to cross the Yangtze River.”

“If we cannot end this quickly, these horses of ours will not carry us six hundred li before we are intercepted.”

“We can pillage small villages for three days because the lives of ordinary people are considered worthless. Do you truly believe those generals would hesitate to slaughter every last one of us and claim the military merit?”

After hearing this, the expressions of Fei Shu, Xiong Wu, Hu Pingqin, and the other men drinking inside the tent all changed.

Even their flushed faces took on a trace of worry.

For a moment, the atmosphere became oppressive.

“General! General! General… We found it! We found it! We located the secret granary!”

Several shouts came from outside the tent.

Fei Ming could only make out the words “located” and “secret granary,” but he immediately shot to his feet. He glanced at Hu Pingqin, and the corners of his mouth were already rising.

“Strategist, what are they shouting?”

“It sounds as though they have located the secret granary.”

“Hahahaha!”

Fei Ming threw back his head and laughed. He raised the wine jar and emptied it in several gulps, spilling wine all over the ground.

“Bring him in! I want to hear everything clearly. If they have truly located the secret granary, then all of you will immediately assemble the troops. We prepare our meals during the Shen Hour, eat and drink our fill, and then slaughter our way into Liangzhou!”

A man dressed as a merchant quickly entered the tent and dropped to his knees.

“General, we have located the secret granary. It is inside the Ruined Temple northwest of Liangzhou. There can be no mistake. The others were unable to leave, so they specifically ordered me to slip out of the city and deliver the report!”

“Excellent! Hahahaha!”

Fei Ming laughed wildly.

“They have walked straight into my trap!”

The other men present also burst into laughter, and the entire tent filled with jubilation.

“What time is it?”

“It is the end of the Wei Hour. The Shen Hour is almost upon us,” Hu Pingqin answered as he stood and cupped his hands.

“Pass down the order. Prepare the meals!”

Before long, cooking smoke curled upward throughout the camp.

Fei Ming donned his heavy armor. He clenched his fists and paced two steps before picking up the spear propped nearby.

He poured three bowls of wine over the spearhead.

“Father, Mother… if your spirits are watching from heaven, please protect your son…”

By the time he left the command tent in full armor with his spear in hand, the sun was already sinking toward the west, and the sky was gradually darkening.

Fei Ming raised his spear and looked toward the heavens. The afterglow of sunset had dyed the horizon blood-red, creating a magnificent sight.

He accepted the reins Fei Shu handed him and calmly mounted his horse.

Pulling on the reins, Fei Ming looked proudly at the troops assembling into formation and shouted, “You have eaten and drunk your fill. Now it is time to draw your sabers and mount your horses!”

“Brothers, follow me into Liangzhou! Seize enough grain for us to enjoy a prosperous New Year!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

The crowd roared with excitement as though they were already standing inside Liangzhou City.

Fei Ming raised his spear and pointed it toward Liangzhou, his eyes blazing.

The snowfall gradually intensified, and the sky had already turned completely dark. Through the hazy night, the outline of the city walls became increasingly distinct.

“Old Xiong, take two thousand men and serve as the vanguard. Clear the path.”

“Strategist, follow behind Fei Shu.”

“Fei Shu, I am giving you one thousand men. Each man will carry seven arrows. Fire three volleys first. Once we approach the walls, fire another three volleys at close range.”

“After we break open the city gates, we will divide into three groups. I will lead my men to the Ruined Temple, while the two of you seize the other public granaries.”

“Break in, carry away the grain, and then return to Yuantou Mountain. You must move quickly.”

“Do not kill the city’s residents, especially the officials. We are here to seize grain, not to slaughter people and set fires!”

Fei Ming spoke in a low, solemn voice, his eyes fierce.

At that moment, he seemed to have returned to Hexi, once again becoming the general who had commanded tens of thousands of soldiers.

“Kill!”

The moment his words fell, Xiong Wu pulled on his reins and cracked his whip. Gripping a long saber, he charged forward first as deafening battle cries erupted behind him.

Fei Ming followed close behind. He leaned forward against his horse, holding a crude bow in one hand. He nocked an arrow and drew the string, maintaining a short distance from the two groups ahead.

On the walls of Liangzhou City, the soldiers were changing shifts and eating their evening meal.

Many had set their weapons aside and were chatting leisurely.

According to custom, mountain bandits rarely descended from their strongholds during the twelfth lunar month. Moreover, this was the South Gate. Mountain bandit groups seldom possessed many men, and even a hundred or so would have been considered a large force.

In the soldiers’ view, such a small number would not even be capable of breaking open the city gates.

Therefore, they were not particularly vigilant.

Clop-clop-clop-clop…

“Hoofbeats? What is happening?”

A soldier who had just finished eating asked in confusion.

He turned his head and saw a vast cloud of dust rising in the distance. Just as he opened his mouth to shout, an arrow whistled through the air and struck him squarely in the throat.

Air hissed through the wound, preventing him from crying out.

He gurgled twice before unwillingly tumbling from the city wall.

Many of the defenders heard the approaching hoofbeats and saw the dust raised by the charging riders. However, before they could light the signal fire, a volley of arrows descended upon them, forcing them to remain under cover.

When Fei Ming and Xiong Wu saw this from afar, they desperately spurred their horses and rapidly closed in on the city walls.

They had originally been only five or six li away. A single volley from Fei Shu’s men had suppressed most of the defenders, leaving only a few scattered arrows flying toward them.

The men charging at the front ignored the arrows completely. They merely lowered their heads and pressed themselves against their horses’ backs to avoid the incoming fire.

Several horses behind them pulled a battering ram and maintained a similarly swift pace.

The distance of five or six li vanished in the blink of an eye.

By then, the first three volleys had already been fired. Fei Shu and his men, who had been trailing behind, caught up with the other two groups.

Once they were within range, they drew their bows and nocked fresh arrows.

The fourth volley soared into the air, immediately followed by the fifth.

The defenders had only just raised their heads above the battlements and had not even managed to fire a single volley when another rain of arrows forced them back into cover.

Xiong Wu and Fei Ming had superior horses and soon reached the city gates.

The two exchanged a glance and nodded. They dismounted and kicked the gates simultaneously.

CLANG!

After confirming that the locking bar had already been lowered, they could only shake their heads helplessly.

Under the protection of several arrow volleys, the battering ram behind them had already arrived.

Nearly twenty burly men pulled the ropes backward before driving the battering ram into the city gates.

After only four strikes, the locking bar snapped and the gates burst open.

Perhaps the entire process had been too easy.

The men at the front stood frozen, unable to react. Only when Fei Ming shouted, “Enter the city!” did they finally recover and rush inside.

The mountain bandits following on foot poured through the broken gates all at once.

They followed the three leaders and raced in three separate directions.